I am Lucky

I go to an arts high school where I’ve always felt at home studying theater alongside a tight-knit ensemble whom have grown up alongside me since middle school. I go to a school that offers a queer literature class where I’m able to learn what pink ink truly means, reading the classics from Giovanni’sRoom to Stone Butch Blues, reading poetry between the lines, and having wonderful classroom conversations about gender, stereotypes, microaggressions, and queer history. There is a GSA (gender sexuality alliance) that has open meetings every Wednesday at lunch, and the ones I’ve attended have been nothing short of fantastic. I do musical theatre and wear dresses and heels onstage and get complimented in the hallways afterwards. When I came out, I was greeted with nothing but love at school and I am so lucky. However, there are those who are not so lucky.

According to studies done by GLSEN (the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education

Network) LGBT youth were three times as likely to report being bullied online. 82% of LGBT survey takers reported having problems with bullying because of their sexual orientation, 64% reported feeling unsafe to go to school due to their sexual orientation and 44% felt unsafe at school for their gender identity. So many kids who avoid going to school for fear that they might be harassed or attacked and left to the mercy of a school that would make little to no effort to stop or prevent further bullying. Queer youth have an increased risk for suicidal thoughts, substance use, depression … These statistics are disheartening, but believable and they need to change.

I won the lottery by getting accepted into Denver School of the Arts, even before I knew I was bisexual. And while my dad once said “that school made you gay”, the school merely provided a safe place for me to grow up and find out who I am and for that I am eternally grateful. The school is practically an anomaly. A majority of the school population is queer which is an immensely different figure from the average population where about one in five are LGBT; it creates a dynamic like no other where the minority are outspoken republicans and while they may be debated with, in the seven years I’ve attended DSA I’ve never seen one fight.

Even if there are still some educational issues such as standardized tests to teach to and no real sexual education, DSA is miles better than the average public school in its regard to being a refuge for queer youth and it’s getting better each year with new programs such as Sources of Strength, a mental health advocacy and support group that leave heartwarming messages on every locker during the very stressful finals week as well as providing self-care techniques to students.

While I can sit here knowing I am privileged in my educational career, what next? For starters, I can serve as a counter narrative and living proof of how positively impactful an arts education coupled with a LGBTQIA+ inclusive curriculum can be and hopefully other public school programs will follow suit with bold teachers not afraid to take on controversial issues and lead important classroom discussions. And although it takes a village, it always starts with the school. Furthermore, while funds are scarce in public education the school system can spend more money on arts education instead of new standardized tests designed with profit in mind instead of the students then encourage teachers to ditch outdated curriculum in favor for a more open education that can cover topics relating to marginalized and silenced stories, cultures, and histories that were just a footnote in the textbooks; future students won’t just graduate knowing how to take a test, but they’ll also graduate leaving as decent human beings who listen to and respect one another.

I am lucky, and others are not. However, it’s what we do with our circumstances that matters most and if we are blessed with good circumstances then it is especially our obligation to try our best to make sure that others have the same opportunities that we have had be it an arts education, LGBTQIA+ inclusive academics, or just a safe welcoming environment to learn.